How to Figure out the Tip at a Restaurant

How Much You Should Leave and Ways to Calculate the Gratuity

© L. Marie Dubuque

Aug 20, 2008

If your server was friendly, prompt, and remembered every detail of your order and then some, he/she deserves a generous tip. But how much is enough, and in these lean and mean times, how do you know if you are over-tipping?

How to Calculate the Tip at a Restaurant:

• 15% is standard. If you received good service, this is how much you should leave. Outstanding service? Maybe 20%. Terrible or non-existent service? Nothing. Don’t be afraid to leave the restaurant without tipping if the evening was a total disaster. If from the time you sat down to the time you were ready to pay, the waiter was arrogant, inattentive, or just plain rude, don’t just leave nothing, complain to the manager. You’re a paying customer. You deserve better. And you might receive a discount coupon for a future visit, if you decide to give the place another chance.
• How to calculate 15% in your head. Say you're with a group of people, you’re trying to pay the bill and you have a movie to catch. Here’s an easy way to figure out the tip without a calculator:

Example- $20 food and beverage bill

1. Take 10% of that number which you know is $2.
2. Then take half of that amount ($1) and add it to the number.
3. The total is $3.

This method works well even in the most time-pressured situations.

When You Should Leave 20%:

• If your server went above and beyond the call of duty, or you just feel generous that day. Remember, waiters make a lot of their income from tips. Say you had a child with you who wasn’t easy to please, and yet the server went out of her way to accommodate the youngster and even took special requests off the menu, this could warrant a 20% tip. Or if the kitchen was extremely backed up, and the server made up for the delay by giving you free ice teas, this would warrant a little better gratuity. Whenever you feel you were made to feel extra special in a restaurant, you might want to consider leaving the wait staff a little something extra as well.
• Bottom Line: Don’t overstay your welcome. If you see the restaurant is completely booked and patrons are standing in line at the door, don’t make this evening the opportunity to conduct a marathon family meeting that lasts the entire evening, without even ordering drinks or dessert. Friendliness and consideration go both ways.

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